HELEN KUTSHER

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Posted Mar. 21, 2013 at 10:32 PM

Posted Mar. 21, 2013 at 10:32 PM

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March 19, 2013

Monticello, NY

Helen Kutsher of Monticello, owner of the famous Catskill resort Kutsher's Country Club, died of natural causes Tuesday, March 19th in Philadelphia, PA. Mrs. Kutsher was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and was introduced to the Catskills following her mother's death, when she was 10 years old. Family friends took her and her brother, Joe Wasser, to Kutsher's to get them out of the city for the summer. As Mrs. Kutsher would say, "Rebecca fell in love with me" and young Helen brought her widowed father, Sam, and Rebecca Kutsher together. Their marriage changed her life forever. She grew up at Kutsher's, graduated from Monticello High School and, what is now SUNY Delhi, with a business degree.

Following World War II, she married Milton Kutsher, Rebecca's nephew, and the couple joined her in running the family business. Milton had visions of a more modern resort and over the years they added more buildings, an indoor pool, an 18-hole golf course, a ski hill, and an ice skating rink. Their night club hosted comics ranging from Milton Berle, Red Buttons, Shecky Green, Joan Rivers, and Jackie Mason to young performers like Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal and Andy Kaufman. Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons all graced the Kutsher stage. But perhaps Kutsher's was most well-known for its emphasis on sports, and one young ballplayer from Philadelphia, Wilt Chamberlain, who worked as a bellhop and became a lifelong friend. His basketball coach at Kutsher's was Athletic Director, Red Auerbach, who went on to coach the Boston Celtics.

Mrs. Kutsher often referred to herself as a shy child who was given confidence by her husband to greet guests and become the "face" of their resort. She was known for her graciousness and hospitality and the attention to detail that made her famous with her staff and guests alike. Often her greeting to guests was "welcome home" and her admonition to staff to pick up stray papers was "it's on your side". Her staff and guests adored her for her kindness and sense of humor. But she was no mere figurehead. If you called the hotel, she was likely to be the person who answered the phone. She ran the reservations office and painstakingly assigned the rooms for her guests, many of whom wanted the same room facing the lake year after year.

Mrs. Kutsher was awarded honorary doctorates in Humane Letters from SUNY Delhi and St. Francis University (Maurice Stokes' Alma Mater). In addition, she received the ADL Americanism Award, the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce Businesswoman of the Year Award, B'nai Brith Women of the Year, and the City of Hope Woman of the Year. There were numerous awards for her support of the American Heart Association.